Ed’s Note: Every year at holiday time we get hundreds of recipes using our Choclatique Chocolate. They get saved on the computer for just this time of year. This recipe is courtesy of Genevieve Brown, Laguna Hills, California.

The ChocolateDoctor’s Christmas Cookie Recipes

Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat egg whites until stiff, add sugar gradually and beat at high speed for 5 minutes. Fold in vanilla, chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by teaspoonful onto foil-lined cookie sheet. Put in oven and turn off the heat. Leave the cookies overnight or at least eight hours.

Ed’s Note: Every year at holiday time we get hundreds of recipes using our Choclatique Chocolate. They get saved on the computer for just this time of year. This recipe is courtesy of Ronal L. White, Goleta, California.

In the top of a double-boiler over hot but not boiling water, combine the shortening, chocolate and molasses. Heat, stirring until blended, then allow to cool. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, ground ginger and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture. Add the milk and mix well. Chill until firm. Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick on a floured board and cut into the shape of gingerbread men (or any desired shape). Bake on greased cookie sheets at 350° for 6 minutes, until browned. Decorate with frosting, royal icing or confectioners’ sugar.

Ed’s Note: Every year at holiday time we get hundreds of recipes using our Choclatique Chocolate. They get saved on the computer for just this time of year. This recipe is courtesy of Janet Plu, Road Island, New York.

Chocolate Pâté was one of our favorite dark chocolate desserts from The West-End Bistro our restaurant in West Los Angeles, California. It is a show stopper, but still very easy to make. The hardest part of making this recipe is waiting for the pâté to chill when you want to eat it NOW.

Prepare a 4-1/2 x 8-1/2 loaf pan by buttering the bottom and sides and lining with parchment or waxed paper.

Melt the dark chocolate in a glass bowl over simmering water. Remove from heat when melted.

Beat the egg yolks until thickened, light yellow and creamy.

Meanwhile, combine sugar and water and boil to 240 degrees Use a quick read or candy thermometer.

While continuing to beat egg yolks at medium speed, slowly pour the hot syrup over yolks and continue to mix until cool.

Add cognac or brandy. Mix.

Whip cream until stiff. Fold cream into egg mixture.

Add chocolate and fold thoroughly.

Spoon in the prepared loaf pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve place pan in hot water for about 30 seconds to release the sides of the pâté from the pan.

Carefully invert the pan on a platter and using a warm carving knife slice pâté portions and place onto serving plates which have a pool of cream anglaise.

At the restaurant, the pâté was displayed with a sheet of gold leaf artfully placed on the top, but you can decorate with fresh fruit, toasted hazelnuts or butter-sautéed blanched almonds or simply enjoy it just the way it is.

It’s time to be thankful and celebrate America’s favorite food holiday. We’re combining America’s favorite cheesecake-based dessert with America’s favorite holiday pie and white chocolate. There are a lot of ingredients to keep track of (well worth the effort), but the good news is it’s super-easy to do. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of toasted, cinnamon pumpkin seeds. Happy Thanksgiving!

Stir the gingersnap crumbs, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, and melted butter together in a bowl until mixture resembles sand. Stir 1 egg yolk into crumbs until thoroughly combined until the crust mixture holds its shape when pressed.

Evenly spread the crumbs into pan and press the crust mixture into a firm crust going about 1 inch or more up the sides of the pan.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes and cool on a rack.

Place the pan on a heavy sheet of aluminum foil and bring the foil up the sides of the pan to the rim, crumpling it close to the pan and making a barrier to prevent water from leaking into the cheesecake.

Place the foil-wrapped springform pan into a large roasting pan.

Place the cream cheese, 1 cup brown sugar, and granulated sugar into the work bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (do not use a whisk attachment); mix on low speed until smooth, about 3 minute. Raise speed to high and mix until light and silky, about 3 or 4 more minutes.

Place the pumpkin puree in a separate large mixing bowl; stir in the melted white chocolate, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, salt, vanilla extract, and bourbon whiskey until combined.

Whisk 1/4 cup of cornstarch into pumpkin mixture, followed by the sour cream, eggs and egg yolks.

Whisk the cream cheese mixture into the pumpkin mixture until the filling is completely smooth and free of lumps.

Pour the filling into the crust; use a spatula to lightly and rapidly jiggle the filling in the center of the cheesecake to smooth off the top and shake out any bubbles.

Carefully place the filled springform pan in the roasting pan on the center rack of the oven and fill the roasting pan with enough very hot (almost boiling) water to reach halfway up the side of springform pan.

Bake the cheesecake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the filling reads 160°F; about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Check the temperature after 1-1/2 hours. The filling will still be slightly jiggly in the center.

Open the oven door for a few seconds to let out most of the hot air. Use a thin knife to separate cheesecake edge from inside of pan to help prevent cracking.

Pour the sour cream topping over the cheese cake and bake for another 8 minutes.

Turn off the heat and leave the oven door a jar (about 1 inch) to release additional heat. Let the cheesecake cool down in the warm oven for 1 hour to finish setting.

Carefully remove the cheesecake from the water bath and let it cool to room temperature on a rack for 2 to 3 hours.

Cover the cheesecake with aluminum foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 5 hours but preferably overnight.

Okay, I made my delicious White Chocolate Ganache Pumpkin Cheesecake last week which only requires about a cup of pumpkin puree and I had the rest taking up space in my holiday-stuffed refrigerator. Never being one to waste food I decided to bake something else with the puree. There wasn’t enough to make a pumpkin pie so I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies instead. These cookies are light on the pumpkin flavor, but rich in holiday spices.You can make the recipe as is or you can substitute the individual spices for 2-1/2 to 3 tablespoons of a pre-blended pumpkin pie spice. I find that Penzeys Spices are about the freshest and fullest in flavor. They have several regional stores or you can buy their Pumpkin Pie Spice online.

Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pans about half way through until the cookies are just browning around the edges.

Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

ChefSecret: If you’re an avid cookie baker like me, one of the best investments you can make is in a #30 scoop which is equivalent to a heaping table spoon. It will provide consistent portioning making depositing the perfect cookie so much easier. These are easily found online or at restaurant supply or kitchen stores.

I used to love to eat Mrs. Fields’ White Chocolate-Macadamia Nut cookies fresh out of the oven. I loved the combination of the crunch of the toasted nuts and the creaminess of the warm white chocolate. The first time I made this cheesecake I used left over (slightly stale) cookies. Now that’s rare to every have leftover cookies in my house. But I digress… I thought these cookies would be great base for my White Chocolate-Raspberry Cheesecake. And it is, but just in case you don’t have a Mrs; Fields’ nearby you can substitute it with the base crust below. And of course, as you will find out, everything goes just a little better with Choclatique White Chocolate.

During the golden age of great education in Los Angeles every school cafeteria had a real baker. They cooked with ingredients that were surplus from the Federal government—peanuts, butter, flour and sugar. They would bake up some of the best desserts you could imagine. They were fresh for the morning break and hot right out of the oven.

They made giant cinnamon-sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies, giant chocolate chip cookies and giant oatmeal cookies all selling for about 25¢ every day. You could smell the cookies baking all the way over in the gym. Miss Birdie was one of the best of the best bakers making giant oatmeal chocolate cookies with milk chocolate chunks and dried cherries, cranberries or raisins. I still make these easy to bake cookies the same way today. They are as much of a hit today as when I first tasted them years ago.

In the 12th century, Catalonia was brought under the same royal rule as the neighboring kingdom of Aragon, going on to become a major medieval sea power. Catalonia has been part of Spain since its genesis in the 15th century, when King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile married and united their realms.

Barcelona was the cultural hub of the Catalan people. Barcelona today is a food lover’s paradise. It’s not all about tapas, fresh-cured olives and wonderful hanging Spanish hams. The city is a mecca for sampling some of the best xocolata (chocolate) in the world. There is nothing better than fresh-lady fingers dipped in a cup of steamy, thick Barcelona-style hot chocolate first thing in the morning.

You can find chocolate of all sorts of chocolate products at Las Ramblas the busy tourist area where it’s hard to resist the cakes and pastries at some of the greatest bakeries in the world. Barcelona is filled with chocolate, with chocolate specialty shops galore and bakeries. There is even a chocolate museum. Museu de la Xocolata is a must see private museum in Barcelona owned by the Gremi de Pastisseria de Barcelona.

In a large microwave-safe bowl combine the butter and chocolate. Melt the mixture for about 2 minutes in 15 to 30 second increments, stirring frequently, until smooth.

Set aside and let cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the eggs with the sugar at high speed until thick and pale, about 4 minutes.

Add the flour and salt and mix at low speed until just until combined.

Using a rubber spatula fold in one-third of the melted chocolate, then gently fold in the remaining chocolate. Do Not Over Mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Invert the cake onto a rack and let cool.

In a saucepan, warm the cherry preserves over moderate heat.

Cut the cake into wedges and serve with the cherry preserves topped crème fraiche or whipped cream.

ChefSecret: When flouring your cake pan use cocoa powder instead of white flour to prevent white streaks at the edges of the cake. For the Black Cherry Preserves I like to use Casa Giulia Amarene. There are also a few wonderful Italian brandied black cheery preserves. Can’t find these, any black cherry preserve will work, just not as well.

Want to make your own Crème fraîche? It’s easy.

Crème Fraîche

Ingredients:
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons buttermilk

Directions:

Combine 1 cup of whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of buttermilk in a glass container.

Cover and let it stand at room temperature (about 70°F) for 8 to 24 hours or until very thick.

It’s not quite a brownie and it not quite a pudding. It is a fudgy, satisfying, great-do-ahead, wonderfully decadent, easy-to-make and luscious, chocolate dessert. I like to hold the ramekins in a warm place in the kitchen and just gently heat in the oven for 5 minutes before serving.

The test kitchen staff was really buzzing when we topped it off with crème anglaise, sweet whipped cream or ice cream (as pictured).

Here a quick little tip for you, if you don’t know how to make a yummy crème anglaise, just let a couple of scoops of Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean ice cream melt and pour it on the top.

Pour the batter into 4 4-1/2-inch buttered ramekins. Set the ramekins into a larger pan filled halfway with hot water.

Bake until the upper crust is crispy and the rest of the batter is firm but not set, 40 to 45 minutes. If you pull it out of the oven too early you can always, stick it back in for another 5 minutes more or so.